Career Opportunity
Design Operations Associate, Lauren Licensing
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Company Description
At Ralph Lauren, we unite and inspire the communities within our company as well as those in which we serve by amplifying voices and perspectives to create a culture of belonging, ensuring inclusion, and fairness for all. We foster a culture of inclusion through: Talent, Education & Communication, Employee Groups and Celebration.
Position Overview
The Design Operations Associate position will report directly to the Head of Design, Lauren Licensed Products and Accessories, and will assist and support all aspects of design direction for global licensed products from initial concept to finished product. The Design Operations Associate will be guided by the Head of Design and will be a liaison to help ensure concept continuity and seamless execution of licensed products.
Essential Duties & Responsibilities
- Daily management of the licensing relationship with Lauren licensees: Rothschild/coats, Swim USA/swim and cover-ups, The Jewelry Group/jewelry, Echo/neckwear, cold weather, hats, gloves and outerwear, Komar/sleepwear, Renfro/hosiery, and Delta Galil/intimate apparel.
- Attend all licensee design meetings and select accessory and footwear meetings.
- Support the design process with scheduling and calendar optimization.
- Accurate and timely follow-up for all design information requests.
- Develop relationships and partner cross-functionally with internal partners (print, color, fabrics, trim, graphics, sweaters, knits, handbag and footwear design teams) to fulfill the design needs of licensees.
- Coordinate seasonal design information to licensees: RTW rig concepts, concept decks, prints, color palettes, fabrics, graphics and trim, and handbag and footwear concepts, materials and sketches, for inspiration and style direction.
- Coordinate licensed product for Lauren RTW seasonal style-outs/market showrooms and advertising shoots.
- Key liaison for reviewing and finalizing licensee product identified in merchandising looks for seasonal B2B sales platform.
- Coordinate handbag samples for licensee showrooms.
- Assist in design/review of licensee seasonal retail facing materials: concept presentations, line lists, and look books.
- In-depth knowledge of licensee product categories: seasonal reporting on trends through retail store visits and e-commerce and magazine research.
- On-going store/e-commerce visits: knowledgeable about Lauren product presentation, department positioning, competition and brand adjacencies.
- Assist in the approval process for packaging, product labels, and hang tags.
- On-going research in corporate product innovation and product initiatives.
- In-depth knowledge of Ralph Lauren brands through library visits, archive product and advertising research, RL store visits, and RL e-commerce site review.
- Maintain organization of product archives; precisely organized by category for quick access.
Experience, Skills & Knowledge
• Excellent communication skills, including strong writing skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills; highly articulate.
• Highly detail oriented with excellent organizational skills.
• Creative, flexible, ability to think outside the box, and solution oriented.
• Ability to navigate a complex, matrixed organization in addition to working with licensee partners with varied cultures, goals, and strategies.
• Ability to multi-task in a fast-paced environment and establish cross functional relationships.
• Strong client-service orientation.
• Team player and independent worker.
• Proficiency in Outlook, MS Office applications including Excel and PowerPoint.
• Strong appreciation and understanding of the Ralph Lauren brand.
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